Rumblings on Twitter of Solomon Alabi to the Raptors.

I hope its true!

———————————————————————————————–

Pick by Pick analysis

I will briefly commenting on all lottery picks, so just refresh to see our latest comments.

#1 Wizards: John Wall – We all know this is the pick, there is a logjam with Arenas and Hinrich but the Wizards will figure this one via trade or buyout.  Wall becomes the new franchise point guard and is likely a future Hall of Famer. I guess trading away Jamison and Butler paid off…talk about winning the lottery.

#2 76ers: Evan Turner – Turner will be an excellent fir in Philly and will share some of the distribution duties with Jrue Holiday. Holiday and Turner are one of the most promising backcourts in the NBA and 76ers fans have to be counting their lucky stars. A starting lineup of Brand, Young, Iggy, Turner and Holiday should propel this team into the playoff picture for years to come.

#3 Nets: – Derrick Favors – Favors are Lopez are going to make quite an intimidating and dominating frontcourt. Rumour has it that they may put Favors in play during free agency but the lineup of Lopez, Favors, Williams, Lee and Harris is a formidable one and I expect to see them back in the playoff hunt.

#4 T-Wolves: Wesley Johnson – Welsey Johnson is a perfect fit for the T-Wolves roster as it currently stands. Johsnon, Brewer and Flynn will be a solid combination for years to come. There is some uncertainty up front but Johnson is destined to make an immediate impact for the Timberwolves.

#5 Kings: DeMarcus Cousins – What a slip, arguably the most talented player in this draft the Kings are ecstatic about partnering Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. This is also the player Tyreke Evans selected in the players only mock draft and will be a rookie of the year candidate.

#6 Warriors: Ekpe Udoh – Udoh impressed the Warriors with his versatility and defense and was selected over potential better players in Monroe and Aminu. With that said the Warriors are thrilled with their pick and are high on Udoh for a reason as we will get to see. Quality young man.

#7 Pistons: Greg Monroe – Joe Dumars and the Pistons luck out and are able to land a true center in Monroe. An excellent passing big man with a good shooting touch Monroe should start from day one in Detroit where they have been coveting a true C the entire off-season.

#8 Clippers: Al Faroq Aminu – We all knew Aminu was going to be the pick and he fits and immediate need at SF and has tremendous upside. The Clippers organization now looks dangerous on paper with Kaman, Griffin, Aminu, Gordon and B. Diddy, lets just hope they can put it all together and help Aminu flourish.

#9: Jazz: Gordon Hayward: What a waste of a lottery pick. I mean Ed Davis is still on the board. The Jazz will not sniff the lottery until D-Will leaves town and blew it big time not calling Davis’ name, especially with Boozers pending free agency.  Anyways, the Jazz were in the market for a shooting SF, I just think they could have traded back into the teens and landed Hayward.

#10 Pacers: Paul George – Filled with upside and excellent versatility George should thrive playing the 2 beside Granger at the 3. What a pick for the Pacers who arguably took the best player available. I was surprised with this pick as the Pacers were rumoured to be in the market for a PG or a big. First draft wrinkle, but it makes sense, especially with Granger being discussed in trade talks.

#11 Hornets: Cole Aldrich – Phew, I am breathing a big sigh of relief because Aldrich did not slip to a position to where the Raptors had to make a decision on him. Aldrich is an ideal fit for the Hornets who were in need of a big. The may have tabbed George if still available but with him off the board they draft an NBA ready center who is ready to immediately contribute to a playoff contender in the New Orleans Hornets.

Update: Traded to OKC….perfect fit for OKC who were desperate for a big man and have been trying hard to get into a position to land Aldrich. They got their man

#12 Grizzlies: Xavier Henry – Arguably a top 5 talent in this draft, I really wanted him to slip to the Raptors but it wasn’t to be. Henry will be an excellent fit for a Grizzlies team who is in danger of losing Rudy Gay to free agency. Henry will become a special player in the NBA. He has a sweet shot and will be a great fit next to O.J Mayo either at the 2 or the 3.

#13 Raptors: Ed Davis – The Raptors hit the jackpot by having Davis slip all the way to them at #13. There is a chance he will be dealt but he is an excellent pick and is the type of big that can help convince Bosh to stay. If he leaves we have a replacement. I can only imagine a starting frontcourt of Amir Johsnon and Ed Davis.

Trade Bargnani for a PG and lets do this!

#14 Rockets: Patrick Patterson – Patterson will do very well filling the void left by Carl Landry with a little less of the clutch 4^th quarters. Patterson is a solid, solid player and is an ideal fit for a playoff caliber team like the Houston Rockets.

———————————————————————————————–

6:28

Bosh is waiting on LeBron.

As has been the general consensus in the NBA Bosh is now expected to join LBJ in Chicago or New York.

While not ruling out a return to the Raptors, Bosh said that he knows he will have to wait on LeBron as he will likely be getting the first calles from teams interested in both players as he indicated to ESPN.

“Am I waiting on LeBron? Pretty much,” Bosh said. “I think everyone has to. I have to as well.”

And although he offered no hints about his own future, Bosh believes what James does could affect everything else that goes on this summer.

“He’s a great player and I would be crazy to think that all the teams that are considering him, they would talk to somebody else first,” Bosh said. “I think everybody is going to be going at him first.

“They’ll probably call him at 12:01,” Bosh added. “Hopefully they’ll call me at 12:02.”"

It looks like its about time to move on from Bosh even though he did give us a glimmer of hope in the interview, Chicago looks to good to pass up.  As stated before BC will have to make some major moves in order to retain Bosh

————————————————————————————————

6:11

Chad Ford has Raptors Digest favourite Xavier Henry going to the Raptors in his latest mock draft.

We are thrilled as he is the player we switched from Paul George to and believe he will be an exceptional fit at the 2 beside DeRozan at the 3. The greatest part is they can both play either position.

Here is hoping that if we keep the pick that we do like Chad Ford suggested we might and draft Xavier Henry.

This makes perfect sense as he will likely be the best player available with the most upside as Paul George is expected to be off the board.

Here are Chad Ford’s comments:

Analysis: As of late Thursday afternoon, the Raptors were still in serious trade discussions with a number of teams. The latest has them discussing swapping picks with the Oklahoma City Thunder provided that the player the Thunder wants at No. 13 is still on the board.

If the Raptors keep the pick, it looks like Henry, Patrick Patterson and Cole Aldrich are among the favorites. They also like Eric Bledsoe, Avery Bradley and Solomon Alabi, but probably only pull the trigger on one of them if the team moves down in the draft.

————————————————————————————————

Kevin Durant tells NBA.com he was a Raptors fan growing up….interesting to note he would have landed with the Raptors if not for David Stern changing NBA age-minimum prior to the 2006 draft.

————————————————————————————————

5:27 P.M

There will be some other interesting live blogs tonight so don’t forget to check them out:

We have Jay Satur from Raptors.com and Akil from Raptors Space

Raptors Republic

Scott Carefoot (Score Blogger)

Draft Express

————————————————————————————————

5:25 P.M

There are a lot of mocks reporting that the Raptors have interest in Patrick Patterson at #13 if we keep the pick and he is still available.

I think he is a good fit if he plan to get rid of Andrea or if we decide to transition him to the small forward position.

Here is our fit analysis on Patirck Patterson:

At close to 18 and 10 in 2009, Patterson could have left Kentucky and assured himself of being a high 1st round pick. One year later, and his stock may have actually dropped due to his freshman teammates who Patterson now had to share the rock with, other potential lottery picks John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe.  Patterson is an NBA ready player with an NBA ready body. As ESPN says, he doesn’t wow you with any one attribute but is solid at everything. Patterson does not project as a top scorer at the next level, and due to his height there have been questions as to whether or not he will be able to play the 4 at the next level or if he will have to transition to the three.  Patterson may have a hard time at the 3, and whoever drafts him should employ him at the 4, either as a starter or backup, it will likely take him time to learn the 3. At the 4, Patterson has the skills to start right away.

How he’d fit with the Raptors: Patterson would be an ideal fit for the Raptors who are still in search of a glue guy, and come July 1, may need a new PF if Chris Bosh decides to leave. The plan is for Bargnani to slide into the 4 spot Bosh vacates, but if Colangelo decides that Patterson is the best fit and best player available on draft day, don’t be surprised to see this undersized 4 get his name called by the Toronto Raptors.  Patterson is the type of player Toronto fans would instantly fall for as he works hard on the court on every play.  The Raptors would likely try to transition him to the 3, where if he could learn to defend the position, he could excel and become a terror on the offensive end as a match-up nightmare.

————————————————————————————————

4:38 P.M

Draft Express reports that the Rudy Fernandez and #22 to the Raptors deal is officially dead.

“Portland-Toronto Rudy Fernandez trade is “dead.” Not happening.”

This is in line with what we were hearing as the Raptors, if interested, would have jumped on the deal.

They appear to have some interest in trading down with OKC where the Raptors would pick up #18 and #21.   This would be a good move for the Raptors and is something that Raptor fans should prepare for as Memphis has been trying to unload their additional pick and acquiring another one doesn’t make too much sense.

If the Raptors do a swap with OKC look for them to target Avery Bradley and Eric Bledsoe at #18 and Solomon Alabi and Larry Sanders at #21.

————————————————————————————————

3:50 PM

The Bulls have agreed to send the #17 pick and Kirk Hinrich to the Wizards, and have the Kings as contingency partner.

Why is this relevant?

The Bulls can now offer two max contracts, and they will be offering them to LBJ and Chris Bosh.   This is a big twist as Chicago is now the favourite to land both of these superstars.

The Bulls will likely work a sign-and-trade with either the Raptors or Cavs but now have more leverage in trade talks.

————————————————————————————————

3:30 PM

A lot of chatter regarding the Raptors over the last two and half hours, nothing substantial but here is the latest:

The Raptors seem to be leaning PG-C if they trade down or acquire an additional pick. Raptors brass feels they can land Bledsoe or Bradley later than #13.

In a surprise mock ESPN’s Andy Katz has Gordon Hayward going to the Raps at #13…….don’t worry, not happening despite his tournament play.

————————————————————————————————-

1:10 PM

Chad Ford of ESPN confirms the talks for the  rumoured deal for #22 and Rudy have ‘cooled down’.

Rudy and whoever we land at #22 may be a good haul…its just depends who we choose.

All in all, happy to hear this deal is not going down.

————————————————————————————————

Throughout the day we will be keeping you up to date in all things Raptors and Raptors draft related and be analyzing the news as soon as it is broken.

The last two days had a couple of rumours involving the Raptors trading down and you have to believe that this is now a distinct possibility.

Tuesday’s rumour from Hoopsworld was Hedo Turkoglu and #13 for Corey Brewer and #16….that rumour was quickly shot down by sources from both teams.

Wednesdays rumour was Rudy Fernandez and #22 for #13 but reports have it that Toronto is still weighing its options.

If you haven’t read them already check out our fit analysis (whether or not these players fit with the Raptors):

Avery Bradley
Eric Bledsoe
Paul George
Xavier Henry
Ekpe Udoh
Patick Patterson